Every time a person wants to enter a social media app, actually to be able to enter most of the apps, you have to make an account, a profile. The program asks you for your email or phone number and your password. After that, you choose a username and fill in details about yourself. All of these things are the first defining qualities of your online self. The username you select is your name for the new self. There are so many options to conceal your identity and create a new version of yourself. But do people actually change their whole personalities for the online world?
The study article we had to read for class states that people actually do not change their whole selves by entering the online world. The article shows cases where users only change parts of their personality to fit an ideal. Most of the time, users build on their best qualities and exaggerate them.
These actions can be seen by everyone using these services. Influencers show only the best sides of themselves. They highlight the idealized and perfect version of themselves. Social media works on the principle of comparison. A regular person starts to compare their life to the amazing life of an influencer. But the influencer does not post the hardships that come with the job. Comparing yourself to others is never good, but when it comes to social media, comparing yourself is something that is hard to escape. Not only can you contrast your life and experience, but also the number of followers and likes.
Making your good qualities more attractive for the sake of reaching a wider audience and getting more likes is not the only way people change on social media.
One can change their appearance to fit a beauty standard and hide the parts they are insecure about. These insecurities are, of course, fueled by the comparisons mentioned above. The whole society we live in is fueled by the beauty standards and the need to keep up with new trends concerning body image. The ideal body changes all the time, but we are forced to buy new products and obey these changing images of the perfect body. But not many people can actually change their bodies on a whim. That’s when Photoshop comes in. This tool allows you to fit into the standards by simple changing a picture of you. You edit your figure to be more fitting of the idealized body standard replicated on social media and you convince everyone you are that. You change yourself through this medium. It is not a complete lie. it is still you in the image, just a little more skinny, or fit.
Changing parts of your personality or your visual appearance are not neccesirely a bad thing. These swaps allow you to experience social media in a different way, enagaging with the other users more freely. Making some of your qualities stand out lets other people on the app know the most imporatnt thing about you easily which leads to more interactions.
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